IFN-con is a new interferon molecule constructed with the most popular conservative amino acid found in natural human IFN-α subtypes using genetic engineering methods. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,695,623 and 4,897,471 have described it. IFN-con had been proven to have broad-spectrum IFN activity and virus- and tumor-inhibition and natural killer cell activity. U.S. Pat. No. 5,372,808 by Amgen, Inc. addresses treatment Infergen® (interferon alfacon-1). Chinese Patent No. 97193506.8 by Amgen, Inc. addresses re-treatment of Infergen® (interferon alfacon-1) on hepatitis C. Chinese Patent No. 98114663.5 by Shenzhen Jiusheng Bio-engineering Ltd. addresses recombinant human consensus interferon-α treatment for hepatitis B and hepatitis C.
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized Amgen to produce Infergen® (interferon alfacon-1) with E. Coli. for clinical hepatitis C treatment at the end of 1997.
Hepatitis B patients can be identified when detecting HBsAg and the HBeAg. IFN-α is commonly used in clinics to treat hepatitis B. IFN-α binds superficial cell membrane receptors, thus inhibiting DNA and RNA (ribonucleic acid) duplication and inducing some enzymes to prevent duplication of the virus in hepatitis-infected cells. All IFNs can inhibit DNA duplication of viruses, but they cannot inhibit the e and s antigen expression.
An outbreak of atypical pneumonia, referred to as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and first identified in Guangdong Province, China, has spread to several countries. Similar cases were detected in patients in Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Canada from February and March 2003. The World Health Organization (WHO) issued a global alert for the illness. In mid-March 2003, SARS was documented in health care workers and household members who had cared for patients with severe respiratory illness in the Far East. Many of these cases could be traced through multiple chains of transmission to one health care worker from Guangdong Province who visited Hong Kong, where he was hospitalized with pneumonia and died. By late April 2003, thousands of SARS cases and hundreds of SARS-related deaths from over 25 countries around the world were reported to WHO. Most of these cases occurred through exposure to SARS patients in household or health care settings. This invention provides a method to prevent and/or treat SARS. This disclosure describes recombinant super-compound interferon (rSIFN-co), method to produce the same and uses thereof. Particularly, the super-compound interferon disclosed herein is capable of inhibiting, preventing and/or treating the hepatitis viruses, SARS virus, or virus-induced upper respiratory diseases, the Influenza virus, for example Avian Influenza virus and Ebola virus.
In addition, rSIFN-co is effective in preventing and/or treating viral diseases and tumors with less side effects as compared to other available interferons.